Putting on an event like Maker Faire Bay Area isn’t for the timid; imagine throwing a wedding with 20,000+ guests. 20 years later we’re still doing it. If you’re wondering why (and you’d be forgiven for it), the answer is in the excited faces of attendees and in the people who make it possible. On opening day 2026, we saw fantastic turnout from makers old and new bring excitement and enthusiasm that well exceeded physician-recommended levels. Of the 300+ exhibits on Friday, here’re a few among the army making this event worthwhile.
Udder Mayhem
Udder Mayhem is an alternative controller rhythm game in which the player plays a barista preparing café lattes by squeezing four silicone udder teats to a beat. It was a hit on Friday, with repeat visitors coming back to defend their score. Game programming was done in Unity, the controller was made with a Teensy 4.1.
Tiny Robot Soccer
Come challenge your friends and drive innovative little robots at Tiny Robot Soccer! Duke it out in teams of two on the tiny robot soccer field, using retro game controllers to drive Sesame robots.
Sesame is a palm-sized quadruped robot designed completely from scratch by Dorian Todd, and has gathered over 1.1M combined views on YouTube. Watch a real-time dynamic camera view of the game on a big screen for the audience with live scores and effects, or simply mess around with the Sesame robot in the testing zone! Optionally, you can bring your own mini robot! Non-Combat Robots that weigh <2 lbs are invited to drop into the soccer field and see how they fare up against the Sesame robots. Formal tournaments weren’t happening but participants received keychains.
The booth also features free stickers and swag, and more.
Bay Area Droid Builders
Bay Area Droid Builders are an eclectic group who exchange information and ideas relating to building their favorite robots of the Star Wars films such as R2-D2, BB-8, and more! They actively participate in local charity and educational events. Always a hit, the droids are constantly getting upgrades with more movie-accurate features.
Sculptures and Ships
Nebula Rider is manifested from the ether to inspire pure bliss, through effortless fluid motion and flying, to elevate the viewer to an altered state. Metal is sculptor Adrian Landon’s primary material of choice. It is the substance of infinite possibility and immediate execution. As such, Nebula Rider is made of stainless steel, a larger than life, non-mechanical pegasus sculpture.
Step aboard the sailing vessel the C.A Thayer and step back in time as Educators from the San Francisco National Maritime Park Assocation take you on an adventure, you will see what it was like in the historic times of the age of sail and life was like on the Barbary coast, during California’s Gold Rush.
The Cuttlefish Art Car and Flash the Tortoise
The Cuttlefish [featured image] is a 35 foot long animatronic inflatable illuminated cuttlefish. Flash the Tortoise is a similarly lighted mobile tortoise made with custom formed HDPE paneling. You can play the lights by using piano or drum set in the dark room!
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